Confined

Confined-Vimeo Settings HD from BDC on Vimeo.

Evaluation - Completed Short Film

Completed Short Film - Reflecting on your finished short film, what works well and how could your piece be improved? Think both technically and aesthetically. How does your piece conform to the codes and conventions of short film? Be specific, use screen shots from your own short film to help. Critically analyse your contribution as an individual to the project.

I feel that the short film "Confined" was a reasonably successful as we planned to create something challenging and ambitious. I personally feel that we achieved this task. When looking back on the final edit I noticed several parts that were not at the standard I was expecting. I feel that the short film has little technical flaws however when viewing the film on a projector I believe that the lighting in the fight scene was poor, as it was not clear to see from a spectators point of view. The scene was too dark and did not give enough impact for the audience. Our aim was for this to be a key scene that would concrete the complex narrative however I do not feel that this scene did our idea justice. Apart from this, the technical elements of our film were near professional standards. The soundtrack was recorded from a piano and then edited on a soundtrack programme. This shows our drive to do more than what was expected when creating the film.

I do not feel that our piece suffered aesthetically as I strongly believe that the overall look of "Confined" is professional, however one improvement that would be changed if I were to complete this unit again would be the narrative. I feel that the style and feel of the storyline was too ambitious for us as a group, especially as we tried to put across a complex story to an audience without much scripting/dialogue. A key strength aesthetically would be the continuity of our film; the fear scenes can prove this. Within “Confined” there are three fears, each of these elements are shown with a glitchy, fast paced/cut style. Each fear also had a vignette that added to the dream like scenarios, the rest of the footage had no vignette which essentially represents reality (See Below).


vignette Represents Fear Scenes



No Vignette Represents Reality

Short films do not follow many codes and conventions, apart from the length of the film. We followed this convention. We also tried to create a film that could easily be recognisable as a short film. We aimed to create an original unheard of storyline and also targeted a niche audience that most short films do.

I personally feel that I was a key member of our group and contributed to each department of the creation of “Confined” from pre-production to post-production I believe that I put in effort to get the best result for the film and the group. My main role during pre-production was the storyboards as I drew the images representing the scenes and camera shots that were going to be used in the film. Another task that I completed was the blogging, I posted several times on the groups blog showing our progression throughout pre-production.

Throughout production I feel that the whole group shared an equal responsibility for the film, and I honestly believe that our film would have come out a lot worse if we hadn’t worked together as well as we did as a group. I was the main actor for the film, we struggled to find an actor and the group decided that I should play the main character “Sean” however I still think that I also contributed to the framing of shots particularly those without “Sean” in. I also found an actor to play an un-named character within the lift scene, I helped film this scene and found the location in which we used.

Pre-production is where I personally feel that I am most comfortable and confident. This is shown as I had taken a huge responsibility for the soundtrack, voiceover for police officer and phone sounds. When creating the soundtrack I used my sister to play the piano and recorded it into the computer. From this Ryan was able to edit to chords and melody that my sister had performed. I also used my dad to voice the police officer, I recorded my dad through my Mac and also wrote the script. I edited the dialogue and then imported it into Final Cut Pro. Throughout the editing period I went up to the edit suite independently several times to make sure that we was ahead of schedule and did not fall behind.

Evaluation - Influences

Influences – how have the short films that you have studied/researched influenced your own production? Be specific, think about use of camera, music, titles, structure, narrative etc. What else has influenced you other than short films? News story? Personal incident? Inspiration week?

I personally feel that our short film “Confined” is very original and unheard of. As a group I don’t believe that we gained much inspiration from short films and other media texts to create this idea. I would say that we possibly was inspired by Rubber Johnny created by Chris Cunningham, I would suggest this as we used a lot of fast paced cuts re-creating a glitchy effect which was used in the short film/music video. Shane Meadows short film “The Stairwell” was an inspiration when creating mood and tone of the fears used in our film. “The Stairwell” is dingy, gloomy and contains low-key lighting. After watching “The Stairwell” I believe that this was a definite look that we wanted to achieve and re-create within our dramatic fear scenes.



Shot From "Stairwell"



Shot From "Confined"

When creating the sound track we was hugely influence by an artist called “Adele” and her track “Hometown Glory” As a group we decided that the piano chords at the beginning of the track would perfectly set the scene and would be informative for its audience as it represents the main character “Sean’s” personality. Instead of using the instrumental of this track we decided to record it via midi cable connected to a piano and then manipulate it by adding new sounds and slowing down the chords.

Evaluation - Audience

Audience – In what ways does your short film target an audience? Think about the techniques that you have used i.e. content, choice of music, pace of editing etc. You will be presenting your completed short films to a year 12 group. What feedback did your questionnaire provide you? What is your analysis of the comments made? Could you use more appropriate New Media methods of receiving audience feedback? Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube etc.

Short films target niche audiences. “Confined” follows this convention as the narrative is complex and would not be easily understood by passive spectators. I also believe that an active audience would struggle to grasp the storyline and this is an overall weakness of “Confined”.

“Confined” has an abstract narrative;this could help attract short film fanatics. Word of mouth could help promote our film within the niche audience environment. The music and pace of editing could also attract our audience, as they are so opposing and different. This factor adds to our film and creates anunusual experience when watching. The soundtrack is slow and calm, this attracts a neutralrelaxed audience where as the pace of editing within the fear scenes is fast and dynamic. This helps bring the story to life and keeps the audiences attention. I strongly believe that these two contrasting elements attract an audience as it offers something different, and difference is all what short films are about.

As a group we recently showed our short film to a year 12 class, this was a positive experience as we got a chance to get some feedback regarding our film. We were eager to find out if they agreed with the flaws that we had found with the film “Confined”. We were also interested in finding out if the year 12 class noticed anything that we had missed when we watched the film.

When reading over the questionnaires that the year 12 class completed, there were both positive and negative comments generally offering constructive criticism. Several students suggested that the scene with Sean looking out of the window in a variety of different shot angles lasted too long and didn’t keep their attention. We received mainly positive comments regarding the soundtrack one student stated
“The soundtrack gave an eerie feel, but also somewhat comforting”
“The piano soundtrack helped set the mood”
I strongly agree with these comments as the soundtrack was created to give off that effect for its audience.

One of the most controversial subjects within “Confined” was the lighting of certain scenes within the film. This issue raised several different opinions and points of view within the questionnaire. It was interesting to find out what people thought about the lighting, I believe that these are some of the statements that help sum up what people felt after watching the film.
“I felt some of the key scenes were too dark, but what we couldn’t see kept a sense of mystery”
“The lighting was too dark in certain points of the film”
I agree with these statements however when viewing the film on a projector where it has been stretched it becomes harder to see and darker. However when watching it on a computer screen I feel that the lighting is suitable and does help set the mood and tone of the film.

With the convergence of technology I believe that using the internet is an easy way to attract an audience and gain feedback. I have used new media methods including my personal Vimeo channel and blogger to upload “Confined” However as of yet I have not received any comments.

Evaluation - Distribution

Distribution – Now that your short film is completed, how are you going to distribute it? What online distribution outlets can you submit your short film to? How do you go about doing this? What about film festivals, short film competitions. We want you to actually do this for real and provide evidence of this on your blog. Be realistic however, for example flying to L.A to enter Raindance probably isn’t going to happen!

Distribution is a key part of filmmaking as it allows people to access your film in a variety of different media texts. In this case with “Confined” we have utilized modern media methods to distribute our film for e.g. embedding videos to Blogger and uploading the film to a Vimeo channel. I personally believe there is a lot of potential with online distribution however as a group we have not yet received the feedback that we was hoping for. Social networking sites like Facebook, Myspace can also help promote our film. Millions of people use these websites daily. Social networking sites offer an opportunity to distribute our film to all these users. It is also a free advertisement that is hugely beneficial for young filmmakers in general and us as a group.

After researching about short film and short film festivals I feel that BBC film network is ideal for us as a group and the film itself. To send our film into this short film network that is based in central London, we need to apply for a contract sheet for copyright reasons. After the group has all signed the contract we can then send “Confined” to the BBC.

We also looked into sending our film into “Encounters Film Festival” This will be hugely beneficial for the promotion of our film as it will enable short film fanatics access to the film direct at the festival. There is a slight issue with “Encounters Film Festival” The issue is group funds as we will need to gather money as a group for an upload fee to join “Encounters Film Festival”

Short Film Week 2-Lesson One

In todays lesson Ryan, Taylor, Niall and I sat in our group and began generating ideas, we used some of Niall's and Taylor's ideas as a starting block. These included short films regarding fear, fears that follow and control people or how someone can see someone else's fears. Taylor mentioned using his car to drive and film in a country lane which would add to the visual style of a film.

We also talked about a back up or possibly using an idea that was generated from Taylor throughout the post secrets lesson, this idea was about someone tapping his pencil on a desk and deciding on a victim.

We debated as a group to try and develop these ideas and strengthen narratives. As a group independently we decided to bring two ideas in each for next lesson which was Tuesday 15th February.

Inspiration Week-Lesson Four

In this lesson I had to present one of our ideas that was created throughout "Inspiration Week", I had to present on my own as the rest of my group were not in due to university interviews. I felt uncomfortable to present without the group as it felt as if i was was only putting across my idea. I talked about the poem called "Have A Nice Day" by Spike Milligan, I talked about creating a short film that was based on the poem however altering it so that it seem that a normal man was drowning in his work instead of drowning by water. I talked about camera shots specifically the use of shot-reverse-shot that would be commonly used in this short film showing the dialogue in which this case are the lyrics of the poem.

The Poem Itself:

Have A Nice Day

'Help, help, ' said a man. 'I'm drowning.' 'Hang on, ' said a man from the shore. 'Help, help, ' said the man. 'I'm not clowning.' 'Yes, I know, I heard you before. Be patient dear man who is drowning, You, see I've got a disease. I'm waiting for a Doctor J. Browning. So do be patient please.' 'How long, ' said the man who was drowning. 'Will it take for the Doc to arrive? ' 'Not very long, ' said the man with the disease. 'Till then try staying alive.' 'Very well, ' said the man who was drowning. 'I'll try and stay afloat. By reciting the poems of Browning And other things he wrote.' 'Help, help, ' said the man with the disease, 'I suddenly feel quite ill.' 'Keep calm.' said the man who was drowning, ' Breathe deeply and lie quite still.' 'Oh dear, ' said the man with the awful disease. 'I think I'm going to die.' 'Farewell, ' said the man who was drowning. Said the man with the disease, 'goodbye.' So the man who was drowning, drownded And the man with the disease past away. But apart from that, And a fire in my flat, It's been a very nice day.

By Spike Milligan

Referencing:

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/have-a-nice-day/

Inspiration Week-Lesson Two

In this lesson we look at postcards for inspiration. A book was released called "Post Secret" and was written by Frank Warren. The book allowed people to send in there secrets on a postcard anonymously, these postcards were published in the book.

I took inspiration from a postcard that stated:

I haven't seen my dad in 10 years and it kills me everyday.

The synopsis I wrote was based on this story:

Billy is a 23 year old factory worker who hopes everyday that his dad will visit him, but he never shows. Billy hasn't seen his father in 10 years, when Billy was 13 he seemed very close to his father. There was no sign for him too leave. Billy now 23 years old has decided to go and find his dad and find out the true reason he left.

Whilst receiving feedback regarding this story, Ms stated that this idea was too complex for a short film and that the idea would be more suited to a mainstream film.

Inspiration Week-Lesson One-Defining "Story"

Inspiration Week-Lesson One-Structual Theorists

As a class we then looked at narrative theories created by structural theorists:

Tzvetan Todorov:Todorov proposed a basic theory/structure for all narratives. He stated that films and TV programme’s begin with an equilibrium, a calm period. Then elements of disruption cause disequilibrium, creating a climax and a period of unsettlement. A new equilibrium is created; where normality is restored but not the same as the beginning.

Aristotle: Aristotle believed that the plot of a narrative must be “a whole”, with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning should introduce the protagonist, building a relationship between the audience and characters. The middle/climax must be caused by earlier incidents that unwind to cause an upset or argument between characters. The end/restoration, must allow characters find a solution that solves all of there needs.

Claude Levi-Strauss: Claude Levi Strauss believed that characters built up the narrative of media texts, he argued that binary oppositions or a conflict between two characters or scenarios helped concrete the narrative.

Vladimir Propp: Vladmir Propp like Claude Levi-Strauss also believed that characters help build up the narrative. He argued that characters in a film usually folktales/fairytales fit in certain stereotypes and categories and this i what builds up the narrative. He believed that there were commonly eight character functions used including the villain, the hero, the donor, the helper, the princess, the father, the dispatcher and the false hero.

Roland Barthes: Roland Barthes believed that codes and conventions/unwritten rules of media texts help build up the narrative which allows the audience to make sense of the media text. It a

lso allo

ws the media text to be in full control of the audience and make them feel how the media text wants them to feel. This theory is quite complex however it informs the audience.

We then had to apply our synopsis to these theories:

Todorov Theory:

A state of equilibrium a the outset:

All is calm as the music gig.

A disruption of that equilibrium by some action:

He spills his coffee on her.

A recognition that there has been a disruption:

Doctors say that she has severe burns.

An attempt to repair that disruption:

The doctor treats her with medicine.

A re-instatement of the initial equilibrium but with some change:

They have children and get married.

Claude Levi-Strauss Theory/Binary Oppositions:

Inspiration Week-Lesson One

In this lesson we discussed what laid ahead in Unit 3: Production Management Project. As a class we used a short film exercise to help build inspiration for us. The exercise was simple, we all had a individual piece of paper and wrote the first line to the story. Once this line was wrote we folded the paper and passed it to another member of the class who then writes the second line of the story.

The first line was to write a man name and what he does for a living. I wrote:

His name is Bob and he is a DJ.

The second line was to write a woman's name and what she does for a living:

Her name is Rachel. She is a primary school teacher.

The third line is about how the two characters met:

The man spills coffee on the woman at a road crossing and the woman hits him in shock.

The fourth line is dialogue from a character:

He said that he always wanted to know what a woman looked like, she was shocked.

The fifth is about an incident/big event that occurs involving the two people:

All of a sudden there was a car crash in the road in the road next to them.

The sixth line is the conclusion of the story/the ending:

They have children and get married whilst the female is giving birth.

From this exercise I had to make a synopsis of the story that was generated by members of the class who wrote different lines. I wrote this:

Bob is a 35 year old DJ who met Rachel at a gig he was performing at, one day they were drinking coffee and he spilt some on his Rachel who is his girlfriend. The pain was horrendous for Rachel and she decided to go into hospital, the doctor offers medication which eases the pain. Once the burns had healed the couple decided to get married and have children.

Chinese Forktie

Chinese Forktie is the 2001 DepicT! Winner, it was created by Andrew Davies and raises the issue off knife crime. The film is informative for its audience; this is proved by the monologue of the main character that tells us facts and statistics about knife crime.

Andrew Davies who created the film was anti knife crime and the character that as an audience we presume is based on him talks about how he disagrees with violence and fighting. He mentions Scotland this therefore informing us the location/setting of the film.

The film contains no soundtrack and we do not know any characters names however there is experimentation with colouring as everything in the film has block colours with a blue tint.

The genre is not very clear until the shock ending off the protagonist stabbing someone with a fork, it then makes the audience realize that this is a social realism short film.

The camera work is quite simple in the film as it shows a young male walking through the park in a variety of different shots. The monologue brings the story together however it also confuses the audience as the protagonist asks us as an audience a question:
“You know I aint had a fight since junior school?”
This allows the active audience to ask questions back, maybe concerning his mental health as he could be speaking to an authority.
This could also represent the unpredictable outburst with the ending stabbing incident and repetitive use of foul language.

To watch this film go to:

http://www.depict.org/shortlists/winners/# and it is the 2001 DepicT! winner

Referencing:

http://www.depict.org/shortlists/winners/#

Geri's Game

Geris game was made in 1997 and is another Pixar short film, it’s animation is a lot more advanced compare to Luxo Jr made in 1986, this shows the progression of technology and how Pixars animations have improved other the years and will continue to do so.

Geris Game has a basic narrative and contains only one character “Geri” The film is quite comical as we feel sorry for the old man who is playing chess against himself, this element makes us as an audience offer sympathy for Geri however his optimism is inspiring and makes us laugh especially with the competition between the good and bad Geri who are playing each other at chess.

The mise-en-scene sets the scene perfectly, as an audience we can see that it is a bright summers day. Little soundtrack is used within the film however Geri’s slow footsteps are heard along with the traditional old mans groan as “good Geri” starts to lose his game of chess.

The film uses the built in camera function within 3D technology perfectly as the camera helps tell the story. The camera movement is ideal as it cuts between the good and bad Geri at either end of the table quickly. Even though as an audience we realise that he is moving extremely slow form one end of the table to the other.

Depth of field is an element that this film has experimented with as “Geris Game” uses depth of field. In the whole film Geri, the chessboard and the table are always kept in focus however the background tresses are slightly blurred. This is effective as it shows keeps the audience looking and watching Geri and not getting distracted.

The film like “Luxo Jr” follows a equilibrium-disequilibrium-equilibrium pattern this is proven by Geri at the beginning of the film calmly setting up the game of chess, disequilibrium occurs when the “good Geri” starts to lose all he pieces” however comically all is resolved as “good Geri” tricks “bad Geri” allowing “good Geri” to win the game of chess.

Referencing:

http://www.garagetv.com/video-gallery/reinyy/Geri_s_game.aspx

Rubber Johnny

Rubber Johnny is a 6-minute short film that is also classified as a music video. Chris Cunningham directed it in 2005 and like Scummy Man made it to an individual DVD. When audience members bought the DVD they also got illustrations and photographs. This shows that short films were giving more than just a film to its audience.

The film is extremely experimental and fast paced this helps concrete the genre of music video. The film is experimental with its low-key lighting, infrared night vision colouring and its deformed main character who is known as “Rubber Johnny”

Rubber Johnny follows the music video codes and conventions as it cuts to the beat of the drub and bass/trance track. The film/music video itself is controversial and raises questions for an active audience, we are shocked with what we are seeing visually however we continue to try make sense of it by asking ourselves questions.

Post-production is a huge factor within this film and has brought it all together, I personally like the way how the editors/visual effects have experimented with motion blur and the speed off the visuals being played.

Referencing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3far9oHZOsI&feature=PlayList&p=A25C25CC56439DB0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=31

Scummy Man

Scummy man was released on DVD platform in 2006, for short films to make it on an individual DVD is quite rare. This shows the popularity of the film. The film has a relevance to the band “Arctic Monkeys” as they have a song called Scummy Man and clips of the film are played within the music video.

Stephen Graham a well known actor plays the character George, he is most well known for his role in Shane Meadows “This Is England” George is a deluded violent character, from the beginning of the film we can see that he is not well liked as he gets ditched by a colleague who uses foul language which immediately gives away the social realism genre.

The accents of characters and the mise-en-scene help establish the location. Several other characters are introduced throughout the film including a prostitute addicted to drugs and a taxi driver. Prostitution and drug addiction are both issues that concrete the social realism genre.

This film uses the convention from TV Dramas. It use’s binary oppositions in this case being George against the taxi driver. This is shown throughout camera shots and the use of dialogue used for e.g. George uses foul language and is very aggressive where as the taxi driver means well and cares for Nina (Prostitute) therefore the two characters oppose eachother.

Scummy man is a social realism British film that is hard hitting and shocking for its audience, this is shown by the mise-en-scene and the choice of actors and their accents for e.g. Stephen Graham is known for playing a brutal violent role and I feel that this adds to Scummy Man’s success.



Referencing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhCaLTJfjPU&feature=player_embedded

About A Girl

About a Girl was released in 2001, it was produced by Silver Films and won a BAFTA. Julie Rufferford wrote the original story; Julie decided to write a story about a young girl struggling with life. She was influenced by the pregnancy rates of young females nowadays. The film had a budget of thirty three thousand pounds, which is a lot for a film that lasts 9 minutes and 50 seconds.

The introduction is simple but effective; it straightaway opposes the mainstream film “About a Boy” and uses modern technology of mobile phone texting to creative an effective title. The use of the mobile phone text attracts the youth audience in which this film targets.

The first shot shows the main character as a silhouette, the camera work is effective as it is a low angle shot, this represents her dream as she sings and dance’s to a Britney Spears song. The camera shot is effective as it informs us as an audience that this is where she wants to be and where she feels that she belongs. The lyrics of the Britney song that she singing are also relevant as they have meaning to her and how she’s been brought up.

As she begins to walk and talk she looks directly at the camera, this is effective as it makes you feel that she is directly telling you her story. In the background mise-en-scene helps establish the scene by showing urban surroundings, a lot of brick walls are used this could represent a barrier in her life, she can’t get past her brick wall so to speak.

Her strong accent gives away the location and setting of the film and from then on we can see who this film targets and what category it fits in, in this case being social realism.

When camera shots are shown with her and her family we see that she is pushed to the side and is isolated. In the first shot we see of her family mise-en-scene and the diegetic sound sets the scene as we can hear dogs barking, police sirens, baby crying. From this we can tell that this is not the best of places for a single mother to raise children, because of this we feel sorry for the main character.

Throughout the film experimental camera work is used, this connotes the unpredictable main character and what she is going to say next. She shares the same dream with her friends who have all had a similar upbringing. She often turns to her father for help however her father is not a responsible adult and he pushes her away time after time this emphasizes her loneliness.

The ending is a shock for its audience and throughout the ending no sound is heard as the visuals dominate the viewers attention, after the film has ended we feel guilty because as an audience we didn’t take her seriously and thought she was just a little child but as the ending occurs we start to re-judge the main character and offer sympathy.

Referencing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL2z8Qzn1dc&feature=player_embedded

Distribution Of Short Films

Successful distribution for short films is quite rare comparing to mainstream who rake in the profit throughout the distribution period. Short films aren’t as popular as mainstream and can’t rely on box office and DVD sales. Successful short films can often make it in a compilation DVD however these are commonly used for educational purposes, On a rare occasion a short film can make it to a DVD just for itself. When a popular short film makes it this far not a lot off profit is made compared to mainstream films. Examples of short films that have made it this far are Chris Cunningham’s “Rubber Johnny” and also Shane Meadows who made a compilation DVD of just his work.

With the convergence of technology allowing people to surf the web on games devices and mobile phones this maximizes the amount of times different people can view short films. With sites like YouTube allowing millions of people to watch videos, a short film needs to be uploaded and once that process is complete it can be viewed any number of times by anyone surfing the web. This is part of distribution and is beneficial for short films as it is there way to be broadcasted to the world.

I recently viewed “Peter and the Wolf”, its distribution was unique as it was part of an iPhone application. The application was free and was called 12 days of Christmas. It basically allowed the iPhone user to download free content throughout the 12 days of Christmas, one of these days allowed me to download “Peter and the Wolf” it is strange to think that this short film has been distributed through an application and iTunes.

I think the distribution of short films will continue to develop along with the technology that allows user to view these films.

Silver Films (Film Production Company)

Silver films are a successful film company that was founded in 1996, they have produced five films in total including About a Girl (BAFTA Winner), Jump, Endgame, Talking with Angels and there most recent film Garden With Red Rose’s which is currently on the international festival circuit.

The website allows users to browse through these films and view them, I feel that all the films have a distinctive style that works well with the title of the company Silver Films. The website is very simple but professional and I believe that this reflects throughout the rest of the company.

“We believe that if you talk to people, rather than shout, they listen. If they’re listening, you can connect with them”.

Quote by Silver Films.

I strongly feel that this quote sums up the company Silver Films perfectly, on the whole silver films have produced five high quality films over the years and I believe will continue to do so.

Referencing:

http://www.silverfilms.co.uk/films/shorts

http://www.silverfilms.co.uk/about

Coffee Shorts (Film Production Company)

Coffee Shorts is a new independent short film production company which was founded in 2003, as they are a recent production company they have only produced and released 7 short films. They don’t just showcase their own work but allow other young aspiring filmmakers to share their films with Coffee Shorts audiences.

Coffee Shorts head of film Steve Piper shows his passion by suggesting that the work that is showcased on coffeeshorts.com is original and is different from other websites that show commercial videos.

“We've scoured film festivals, online web video sites and mountains of film submissions to find the most talented indie filmmakers around the world to screen on our network”
Quote by Coffee Shorts

I completely agree with this quote as it proven by the professionalism of the company, coffee shorts uses other website to show off work, they use Blogger to allowing viewers to leave feedback. They also allow users to share work that they have viewed and send it to friends via many different social networking sites including Myspace and Facebook. This is effective as the audience itself promote the company by sharing and viewing each others work in which coffee shorts call “Art”

Referencing:

http://www.coffeeshorts.co.uk/filmmakers.html

http://coffeeshorts.blogspot.com/

http://www.metacafe.com/channels/coffeeshorts/

Atom Films- Atom.com

Atom Films was founded in 1998 by Mika Salmi, It is an award winning entertainment network allowing users to watch original short films and animations. Atom films are a successful company that have produced and exhibited titles including Angry Kid, Happy Tree Friends and Star Wars fan films. Atom Films benefits form the convergence of technology as the company itself has worked alongside mobile phone companies and other services including Xbox and iTunes. This is a clever marketing strategy as it maximizes the chance of people viewing the content for e.g. a user of a modern mobile phone may use the internet to browse the web and watch short films on Atom.com.

In August 2006 Atom entertainment was bought by MTV, all Atom properties were sold including Atom Films, Addicting Games and Atom uploads. In June 2008 Atom Films was re-launched as Atom.com however their agenda had changed as they have removed original indie content and now just focus on comedy. This was a bold decision for Atom however two of there biggest hits “Angry Kid” and “Happy Tree Friends” both fall under the comedy genre.

As I said before about the convergence of technology benefitting Atom, new promotion has occurred including a new programme “Atom TV” that airs on Comedy Central. This progression occurred at the re-launch of Atom Films.

I was interested to find out more about the marketing of Atom and how they promote themselves as an original entertainment company, I was keen to find out what other innovative platforms are used to attract desired audiences.

I researched into the promotion of the company itself and was interested how Atom.com promoted themselves via hugely popular sites including fan pages on Facebook and Youtube channels etc. Atom have also utilized current technology by creating an iPhone application with relevance to “Happy Tree Friends” this shows the extent of how Atom.com use innovative platforms to target there audience and to promote their content.

Referencing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom.com

http://htf.atom.com/

http://www.atom.com/

http://www.atom.com/channel/channel_angry_kid/

Protest and Free Cinema

1950’s Britain was an important decade for British films as a protest occurred against the mainstream cinema scene. Britain’s free cinema’s mostly played short films that were black & white with similar conventions to documentaries and reality TV. The British free cinema was funded by the BFI (British Film Institute) however this movement caught on in France as they had cinemas that were free and played short films as well, one cinema in particularly was called ‘Cinema verité’.

“Cinéma vérité” followed the British documentary/reality TV style of filmmaking, with the use of experimental naturalistic techniques with editing and camerawork, they also tried to use of the camera to provoke subjects/issues. In French the term‘Cinema verité’ means "truthful cinema".

Within the 1950’s working class people were treated unfairly as they were regarded as criminals and low lives. The release of the film “We are the Lambeth Boys” changed this stereotype as it focused on the working class people that no other film had done before. Karel Reisz was a founder member of the free cinema documentary film movement. His film “We Are The Lambeth Boys” was made in 1958 and was created due to the influence of protest cinema, itwas a naturalistic depiction of the working class people, it was unusual as it showed the leisure life of working-class teenagers in the 1950’s. The success of film allowed the BBC to make two follow-up films about the same people; these follow-ups were broadcasted in 1985.

When Producing these types of short films the production crew which were usually unpaid used 16mm bolex cameras, these cameras are the same cameras used to create “Meshes in the Afternoon” (1940’s) This shows little technology progression for filmmakers between the 1940’s – 1950’s.

Referencing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinéma_vérité

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Reisz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANb3l-jRfh0&feature=PlayList&p=4C6C47EB2D1CB79A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

Film Festivals Table

	Encounters	LFFS	RSS
When Did They Start?	1995 – Brief Encounters	2003 – The Halloween Short Film Festival – 2008 LFFS.	1998-Rushes Soho Shorts
When DO They Take Place?	Bristol – November	11 Venues all over London. 8-17 Jan 2010	10 day festival 21st-31st July
What Awards Catergoreis Are there?	International Jury Award South West Jury Award DepicT! Awards Film Club Teenage Jury Award Best British Award UK Film Council Award Cartoon d’Or Nominations Online Audience Award 4mations International Newcomer in Animation Award South West Screen Audience Award Film Club Child Jury Award Animation/Action Nahemi/Kodak prize for Creative Film making Cinematography	UK FILM COUNCIL AWARD for best Film of the Festival Shooting People Comedy Award Current TV Documentary Award East End Film Festival Award Time Out Award for Best London Film Sci-Fi London Award for Best Horror Film Wallflower Press Award for Best Experimental Film	The international category The long form category The documentary category The animation category Te best new-comer category Music video category The broadcast design category
How To Enter?	Can be sent via DVD or www.yousendit.com	Unavailable information as festival has just finished	15 pound per film. Submit via uploads or DVD Post
What Kind Of Film Do You Need To Apply	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.	Wide range of genres because the wide range of awards.
How Big Is The Festival? Sponsorship? Event?	Huge amount of sponsors including big companies etc. that suggests it is big scale.	Over 200 screenings. 6000 tickets sold.	1200 professional & amateur filmmakers 140 films in final selections.

Film Festivals & Uploading To A Web Cinema

How to get short films broadcasted and distributed via the web or film festivals

The exhibition of short films is so diverse and different compared to mainstream films, you can't go to any cinema to view a short film. The cinema's they do play short films are specialised for doing so, short films are kept underneath the hype of mainstream cinema needless to say that there are loads of festivals, awards and different categories in which short films fit in. This proves that the popularity of short films still exists but is hidden from mainstream filmmaking.

Short films in general have hugely benefited from the convergence of technology. Phones and gaming consoles now have the ability to surf the web allowing users to then find and discover short films.

If a short filmmaker wants to show their film at film festivals they have to pass several requirements and entry legal conditions. Filmmakers need to have permission which is known as "artistic property" you will only be able to show your film to the public at festivals if the film is cleared. To have a film classified as being cleared you would need written permission to use everything and everyone that appears in your film. Big companies are against aspiring filmmakers who use there logo or product in their film as it could influence the audience not to use their product. If a filmmakers has not got permission from the company and have gone against the rule they are highly likely to get sued.

DeplicT!

DepicT! is a unique filmmaking competition, part of Encounters film festival, which challenges filmmakers from across the globe to come up with a compelling, imaginative idea and distil it into 90 seconds of cinematic originality.

And the Red Man Went Green

This short film was the 2006 DeplicT! winner, it shows an old woman’s world turned upside down as she navigates through London. At first we see the busy streets of London, these visuals are shown mostly through wide shots. We hear diegetic sounds at this point these sounds include conversations and cars driving. We immediately notice an innocent women making her way through the busy streets eventually coming to a crossing. The camera shots are high profile making her seem small, nervous and innocent. Meanwhile a young athletic male skates towards the same crossing at the opposite end. The shot changes are fast paced with this male however when the women is shown the shot changes less frequently at a slower rate. Tension is built as the "red man changes to a green man" and we see the old lady starting to cross, from a distance we see the skater coming towards the woman. As he gets closer the sound of the wheels on his roller blades increase this adds to the tension and suspense. As an audience we panic and think that the skater is going to bump into the old lady, we prepare for the collision however to our surprise the young male picks up the lady and spins her around almost asif he is saving her. During this time the lighting has changed, all is very bright now and colours become more vibrant, this could show her dream of becoming young again. The film ends quite comically as the male gently puts the lady back on the ground and she is waiting yet again at another crossing.

Referencing:

http://www.depict.org/

http://www.sohoshorts.com/?#/1

http://www.sohoshorts.com/?#/79

http://www.shortfilms.org.uk/2010-sponsors-partners/

http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2741118991835569666&ei=Oe5hS7iwKdbB-AaMpqnCCA&q=And+the+Red+Man+Went+Green+Ruth+Meehan&hl=en&client=safari#